IN Brief:
- The Waterbeach package covers electricity, water and fibre infrastructure for 6,500 homes, five schools and commercial premises.
- Scope includes more than 5,400 electricity, water and fibre connections, plus 26 substations.
- The contract also brings long-term network adoption into the same delivery model.
Last Mile has secured a major multi-utility contract at the Waterbeach redevelopment in Cambridgeshire, where the former barracks and airfield site is being brought forward for 6,500 homes, five schools, and commercial space.
Appointed by Urban&Civic, the company will design, build, and manage electricity, water, and fibre infrastructure across the western parcel of the scheme. The package includes more than 5,400 electricity connections, more than 5,400 clean water connections, more than 5,400 fibre connections, and 26 substations with total capacity of 22MVA. Last Mile Asset Management will also manage the network adoption process as delivery progresses.
The award includes one of the UK’s largest water network adoptions under the New Appointments and Variations model, replacing the incumbent supplier on the clean water infrastructure. Bringing utility design, delivery, and long-term management together under one package should help streamline programme coordination across a site where serviced plots and enabling works need to move in step.
Paul Betts, senior project manager at Urban&Civic, said the joined-up approach would help keep essential services and infrastructure moving as the community grows. The utility works sit behind a wider scheme that includes low-energy homes, EV charging, air-source heat pumps, and active travel infrastructure, pushing the project further into delivery on one of the East of England’s larger housing-led developments.
